Why Fight a Traffic Ticket?
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on the NMA Blog in March 2018. Did you ever feel that you were already considered guilty when you received a traffic ticket even though, under the US Constitution, you are innocent until proven guilty? This includes any kind of traffic ticket coming from either a law enforcement officer […]
Crime Isn’t the Only Thing That Doesn’t Pay: NMA E-Newsletter #668
Care to hazard a guess on how much money the city of Los Angeles has raked in from traffic and parking enforcement during their last five fiscal years, which end each June 30th? If your estimate is more than half a billion dollars, you are getting warm. During those five years, Los Angeles collected more […]
Over Engineering Speed Limits
By an Anonymous NMA Member from Arizona The government recently lowered the speed limit on my main street from 45 to 40. I calculated that if I lived to the same age as my mother, the reduced speed limit would cost me five days of productive life. Not enough to worry about, but it’s the […]
Presenting the Next Automated Traffic Enforcement Device—the Noise Camera: NMA E-Newsletter #656
Let’s face it—most of us dislike loud motorcycles or vehicles revving up next to us at an intersection, blowing by us on an interstate, or disrupting the solitude of our neighborhoods. But to use automated devices to catch people who are exceedingly noisy seems to push us deeper into the world of Big Brother than […]
Which Car Modifications Are Illegal?
For many drivers, bringing a car home is only the first step to truly making it theirs. Once it’s in their garage, they begin the process of turning it into something they’re proud to drive. But how far is too far when it comes to vehicle modifications? Unfortunately, many of the popular mods you see […]
Equity and Sustainability
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in March 2021 as NMA E-Newsletter #637. If you would like to receive the NMA’s weekly one-topic newsletter, subscribe HERE. Those are the buzzwords used frequently by city transportation officials as they seek to achieve “complete streets” nirvana. Before we attempt to define the overused terms, it is essential […]
License Plate Readers are Ticketing Cars for Polluting the Air
From Joe Cadilllic, co-writer of the NMA Street Surveillance Watch and editor of the Mass Prviatel Blog Forget all the exaggerated claims public officials told us about CCTV cameras and public safety. Move over Vision Zero proponents because there is a new player in town. License plate readers that can ID and fine vehicles for polluting the […]
Speed Camera Games Played for Profits in Ohio: NMA E-Newsletter #650
When will Ohio municipalities ever learn? The Ohio Supreme Court has been working overtime on automated enforcement cases brought by motorists against cities and townships across the state. Justice would be better served if the state prohibited ticket cameras altogether. The difficulty is that the larger cities in Ohio have home-rule authority, i.e., they set […]
Equity and the MUTCD: NMA E-Newsletter #644
As we have noted prominently in recent newsletters and email action alerts, the Federal Highway Administration has recommended sweeping changes to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). In Equity and Sustainability (NMA E-Newsletter #637), we criticized the appropriation of those terms, particularly ‘equity,’ to demand broad restrictions on drivers and driving. NMA Director […]
The Push to Curtail Driving
The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is the government’s massive document that controls the application of regulatory devices like stop signs, crosswalk markings, and traffic lights. The MUTCD, last updated in 2009, is the current subject of a proposed federal rule by the FHWA. The sweeping revisions suggested by […]